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Fauchard Gold Medal Award

The Pierre Fauchard Academy awards the Fauchard Gold Medal annually to a person who has made outstanding contributions to the progress and standing of the dental profession. The recipient is nominated by the Committee of Past Recipients which includes all living past recipients of the medal and must be approved by the Board of Trustees. The Medal is presented at the time of the Awards Luncheon during the Annual Session of the American Dental Association. The recipient must have a dental degree or it's equivalent and reside in the United States of America.

2019 Gold Medal Award Recipient:

Patricia Blanton, DDS

Dr. Patricia Blanton has led a distinguished career in academic dentistry dating back to her first faculty appointment in 1967. She has taught for 51 years and there is no indication that this trend is abating. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Anatomy from Baylor University, Waco, Texas; the D.D.S. degree from Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas; and her certificate in Periodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry/Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital. She is an intellectual of the highest order of magnitude and she is a beloved educator to her more than 11,000 academic progeny. Pat is a classically trained anatomist and for more than fifty years she has advocated aggressively for a robust basic science background for those pursing advanced medical and dental degrees. She has always insisted that her students need know more than the “what” and she is masterful at igniting the intellectual curiosity in her students to question the “why”. Pat lectures internationally and has produced over one hundred publications, including a textbook. Dr. Blanton is unique among lecturers today with her educational background and experience in anatomy as well as clinical dentistry